Sorry for not responding to requests until hours later. This story
may have since been updated - but the WSJ gave it the biggest play
this morning - because it was also threatened by eBay.
Because it and the NY Times - gave it big play - copycat news
organizations have since followed, piggy-backing on the WSJ's original
research and delving into the complaint itself.
Note that in all news accounts, eBay responds by distancing itself -
saying that all defendants no longer work for eBay. It's obvious that
it knew about the federal investigations well before yesterday's
announcement by the DOJ - and was bracing for the worst while
launching a damage control strategy in its prepared statements to news
organizations.
Nevertheless, here is the longer WSJ story as it appeared on this
morning's front page. The WSJ has always had a paywall for its
exclusively researched content.
The shorter NY Times version should be accessible to all in private
mode.
=================
=================
=================
PAGE ONE - WALL STREET JOURNAL
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER EBAY STAFF WITH 'CYBERSTALKING
CAMPAIGN'
COCKROACHES, A BLOODY-PIG MASK: SIX FORMER WORKERS AT EBAY ARE
ALLEGED TO HAVE STALKED A NEWSLETTER EDITOR.
By Sebastian Herrera for the Wall Street Journal
Tuesday, June 16, 2020
------
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged six former workers at eBay
Inc. with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a Massachusetts
couple who publish an e-commerce blog, EcommerceBytes, that criticized
the company.
The department on Monday said the attacks included sending the couple
threatening Twitter messages and packages that contained live
cockroaches, a funeral wreath and a bloody-pig mask.
The department also alleges that the defendants, whose
responsibilities included security and global intelligence, conducted
covert surveillance of the Natick, Mass., couple.
------
The alleged actions by the employees, whom eBay fired in September
after an investigation, followed criticism of EcommerceBytes by top
executives that included Devin Wenig, the company's chief executive at
the time, according to the complaint, which doesn't identify Mr. Wenig
by name.
"We are going to crush this lady," an unnamed eBay executive texted
on April 10, 2019, to another unnamed eBay executive, identified as
"Executive 1" in the complaint.
The text included a link to an EcommerceBytes blog post about
"Executive 1's compensation," the complaint says.
The blog post is titled "eBay CEO Devin Wenig Earns 152 Times That of
Employees," indicating that Mr. Wenig is Executive 1 in the complaint.
That person hasn't been charged.
------
Later, after an unspecified EcommerceBytes post on May 31, Mr. Wenig
texted: "Take her down."
At another point, he also used an expletive to refer to The Wall
Street Journal's coverage of the company. "The journal is next on the
list," he said in the text, according to the complaint.
It couldn't be determined if the Journal or any of its reporters was
targeted.
------
Early in 2019, EBay was locked in a battle with activist investors
Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard Value LP, which were pushing
for board seats and a deal that it was believed could lead to a
company breakup.
EBay has since sold off the ticketing site StubHub and is considering
a sale of its classifieds unit to assuage Elliott and Starboard.
"It goes pretty far up the chain at eBay," U.S. Attorney Andrew
Lelling said Monday at a news conference. He noted that the Justice
Department investigation continues.
------
Ina Steiner, the editor of EcommerceBytes and the author of the
posts, as well as her husband David Steiner, didn't respond to
requests for comment Monday.
EBay on Monday said it was notified by law enforcement in August of
suspicious activity by the company's security personnel directed at
the newsletter editor and her husband, who serves as publisher.
The online marketplace said it immediately launched an investigation
and in September fired all those staff involved in the campaign.
The company said its investigation included examining whether
then-CEO Wenig might have played a role in the harassment of the
editor and publisher.
The company said that while it found that some of Mr. Wenig's
communications at the time "were inappropriate," it found no evidence
that he knew in advance or authorized any actions against the couple.
Mr. Wenig resigned in September over what he said were disagreements
with eBay's board, including clashes over the sale of assets.
In a statement Monday, Mr. Wenig said he didn't direct or know
anything about the alleged acts involving the former eBay employees.
"What these charges allege is unconscionable," he said.
"EBay does not tolerate this kind of behavior," a special committee
formed by eBay's board of directors said Monday. "EBay holds its
employees to high standards of conduct and ethics and will continue to
take appropriate action to ensure these standards are followed."
------
Those charged included James Baugh, who was senior director of safety
and security at eBay, David Harville, formerly director of global
resiliency, and Brian Gilbert, a manager in the company's global
security team.
The other defendants are Stephanie Popp, Stephanie Stockwell and
contractor Veronica Zea, all of whom worked in eBay's global
intelligence operations.
Mr. Baugh and Mr. Harville were arrested Monday on charges of
conspiracy to commit cyberstalking and conspiracy to tamper with
witness, each of which carry a potential sentence of up to five years
in prison.
Mr. Gilbert, Ms. Popp, Ms. Stockwell and Ms. Zea also face the same
charges and are scheduled to appear in federal court, the department
said.
The defendants couldn't be reached for comment.
------
The alleged cyberstalking began after the newsletter wrote about
litigation involving the online marketplace, according to the
complaint.
Members of eBay's executive team followed the newsletter's posts and
often took issues with its content, according to the Justice
Department.
------
The former employees allegedly carried out the harassment campaign in
three parts.
They sent items including a preserved fetal pig, a bloody-pig
Halloween mask and a book on surviving the loss of a spouse, the
department said.
Some of the former employees also sent private messages over Twitter,
as well as public tweets, criticizing the newsletter, according to the
department.
In a third phase, the former employees spied on the couple at their
home and community, the department said.
------
On Aug. 15, Mr. Baugh, Mr. Harville and Ms. Zea allegedly drove to
the couple's home with the intent of breaking into their garage and
installing a GPS tracking device on their car.
In the event that they were stopped by police, Mr. Baugh and Mr.
Harville carried false documents purporting to show they were
investigating the couple in connection with threats to eBay
executives, the department said.
The couple, however, detected the covert attempt and notified police,
who began an investigation.
The former employees attempted to interfere with evidence and lied to
the police about eBay's involvement, the department said.
------
The charges Monday cap off a turbulent period for eBay.
Mr. Wenig's departure in September was part of an exodus of eBay
executives and managers last year. The former CEO said at the time
that he had disagreements with eBay's board, which was deliberating
selling assets of the company after pressure from activist investors
Elliott Management Corp. and Starboard Value LP.
EBay, which in April named Walmart Inc. executive Jamie Iannone as
its new CEO, has considered selling its classified-advertising
business, which could be worth $10 billion, The Wall Street Journal
has reported. In February, eBay closed the sale of its StubHub
ticket-sales unit in a $4.05 billion deal with Viagogo Entertainment
Inc.
------
EcommerceBytes writes extensively about eBay. The site published
short posts about several of the executives who recently departed and
also critical takes on actions at the company.
In one post dealing with an eBay lawsuit against Amazon filed last
year, Ms. Steiner wrote that Mr. Wenig, the former eBay CEO,
"demonstrated a lack of appreciation" for third-party sellers who want
to sell on various tech platforms.
In another post in May 2019, the site reported that eBay had built on
its campus an expensive replica of a popular Manhattan bar. The
article noted that Mr. Wenig was a New York City transplant.
"EBay is charging sellers more and offering less (see its 2019
first-quarter financials)" Ms. Steiner wrote. "They might be wondering
what took investors so long to speak up on how the company's
management and board of directors are using the revenue generated by
sellers' fees. Stiff drink, anyone?"
Comments on articles about eBay at times were critical of the company
and its executives.
-------------------------
FROM: MoPo List <mopo-l@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU> on behalf of David
Kusumoto <davidmkusum...@hotmail.com>
SENT: Monday, June 15, 2020 11:36 PM
TO: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU <MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU>
SUBJECT: Re: Former eBay employees allegedly used cockroaches,
spiders, and a gruesome mask to harass a couple
The story is on the FRONT PAGE of tomorrow's WSJ - and - on page 1 of
Section B in tomorrow's New York Times.
IN THE WSJ STORY, INA AND DAVID ARE NAMED:
"Ina Steiner, the editor of EcommerceBytes and the author of the
posts, as well as her husband David Steiner, didn’t respond to
requests for comment Monday."
The WSJ reports that eBay CEO Devin Wenig texted (about the Ina
Steiner) - "Take her down." At another point, Wenig used an expletive
to refer to the Wall Street Journal’s coverage of eBay, adding, "The
journal is next on the list."
* THE ATTACHED PICTURE IS AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT WAS SENT TO INA AND
DAVID'S HOME, I.E., A BLOODIED PIG'S HEAD MASK - AND A BOOK ENTITLED,
"SURVIVING THE LOSS OF A SPOUSE."
https://imagizer.imageshack.com/img923/9108/gS8Ps8.jpg [1]
If you hit a paywall, let me know and I - (or anyone else who has
access) - will post the full text later.
--------------------------
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020
PAGE ONE - FRONT PAGE, A1 - WALL STREET JOURNAL
_JUSTICE DEPARTMENT CHARGES FORMER EBAY STAFF WITH 'CYBERSTALKING
CAMPAIGN'_
https://www.wsj.com/articles/justice-department-charges-former-ebay-employees-with-cyberstalking-campaign-11592241507
[2]
[3]
Justice Department Charges Former eBay Staff With ‘Cyberstalking
Campaign’ - WSJ [4]
The U.S. Department of Justice has charged six former workers at eBay
Inc. with leading a cyberstalking campaign against a Massachusetts
couple who publish an e-commerce blog, EcommerceBytes, that ...
www.wsj.com
---------------------------
TUESDAY, JUNE 16, 2020
SECTION B, PAGE 1 NY TIMES
_U.S. SAYS LIVE ROACHES WERE SENT TO EBAY CRITICS._
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/15/technology/ebay-cyberstalking-with-cockroaches-and-bloody-pig-face.html
[5]
[6]
Ex-eBay Workers Sent Critics Live Roaches and a Mask of a Bloody Pig
Face, U.S. Says - The New York Times [7]
Six former employees of the site sent threatening messages and
deliveries to a couple after the e-commerce newsletter they published
wrote about a lawsuit involving eBay. Joseph R. Bonavolonta ...
www.nytimes.com
==========================================
On 2020-06-15 21:25, Bruce Hershenson wrote:
UNBELIEVABLE! 21 years ago, when I moved my auction business entirely
online, I met a couple, Ina and David Steiner, who had just started a
site devoted to online auctions called https://www.ecommercebytes.com/
[8]
I found (and have continued to find over the years since) that their
site was one of the only online sites to provide the "straight dope"
about online selling. Naturally this included much negative
information about eBay, as the auction site did all they could to keep
raising fees on their sellers, while adding insane regulations to
being a seller. I left Bay in 2007 after 330,000 auctions there, and
ecommercebytes covered my departure honestly and fairly.
NOW, this has happened, and it is something NO ONE could possibly have
expected from ANY company. The couple referred to in the article below
(although they are unnamed) ARE Ina and David Steiner, and I guarantee
reading this will turn your stomach. :(
https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/15/tech/ebay-cyberstalking/index.html [9]
[10]
eBay: Former employees allegedly used cockroaches, spiders, and a
gruesome mask to harass a couple - CNN [11]
Six former eBay employees face charges for cyberstalking and
tampering with evidence after, according to federal prosecutors, they
harassed a Boston-area couple who ran a news site that was at ...
www.cnn.com
-------------------------
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